Golden-throated Barbet

Golden-throated Barbet Psilopogon franklinii was recorded five times all in Doi Inthanon National Park. On this occasion, we were at the car park at the summit of the mountain at 2,565 metres above sea level when our tour leader focused his telescope on this attractive bird at mid level in a large tree. Despite the bird showing well in the scope, I was unable to find it in the camera viewfinder so I handed my camera to the tour leader who took the photo, one of the few photos on this website not taken by me.

The photo clearly shows some of the key features of the subspecies P. f. ramsayi: red forehead; yellow middle crown; grey streaked blackish lower ear coverts; yellow upper throat; pale greyish lower throat; broad black band through the eye streaked with grey; outer fringes of secondaries distinctly blue-washed.

Golden-throated Barbet is a resident breeder in the hills from north-east India east to south-western China, Malaysia and Vietnam. It is a species of broadleaf evergreen forest from 900–2565 m altitude. P. f. franklinii, the nominate race, occurs from India east to northern Laos and southwestern China. P. f. ramsayi is found in central and eastern Myanmar and northern and western Thailand. This species was in the genus Megalaima previously.

References: Wikipedia; Robson, C. (2010) Birds of South-East Asia, page 40, New Holland Publishers (UK) Ltd.